Cambridgeshire, England

Hemingford Abbots slipway

Launch — A slipway on the River Great Ouse at Houghton Lock, tagged for canoe and punt access on OpenStreetMap.

Parking — The nearest formal option is the National Trust's Houghton Mill car park, roughly 200 m away (pay-and-display, £3.50 for up to three hours for non-members, free for National Trust members; no space for coaches, motorhomes or caravans; closes to new arrivals at 4pm and locks at 5pm). Free roadside parking is also available on Meadow Lane in Hemingford Abbots, from where a footpath and bridleway lead to the river.

Access — Bridleway 5 links Meadow Lane in Hemingford Abbots with Houghton, crossing the river's backwater on the Bailey Bridge and the main channel at Houghton Lock; it is tarmac and wheelchair accessible, though manoeuvring room is limited at two gates. The water meadows on both banks are prone to flooding.

Season — The Hemingfords Regatta takes over this stretch each year on the second Saturday of July, with mooring at Hemingford Meadow restricted from the Friday before through the Sunday after for set-up, racing and teardown, and rowing crews practising on the river through the preceding weeks. Waterclose Meadows Campsite, on the opposite bank, is open March to October only.

Regulations — Unpowered craft on the River Great Ouse must be registered with the Environment Agency, the navigation authority for the Anglian Waterways, or hold a Canal & River Trust Gold Licence; British Canoeing and Paddle UK membership can stand in for registration. The Anglian Waterways recreational byelaws apply, and the Environment Agency issues Strong Stream Advice against navigation when river levels rise.

Hemingford Abbots slipway sits on the River Great Ouse on the Houghton Lock reach, with Houghton Mill close by on the bank. The National Trust's canoe trail passes through here on its route from the mill towards St Ives.

Houghton Mill

Houghton Mill stands over the river a short way along the bank, a Grade II* listed watermill with parts dating from the seventeenth century and milling recorded on the site since AD 974. It is the last working watermill on the Great Ouse, and the National Trust, which owns it, still mills wheat here for its Wimpole Estate.

From here the National Trust's canoe route continues downstream past Hemingford Grey to St Ives, where the river divides around Holt Island, a nature reserve of former osier beds, reed and sedge.

Nearby

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Waterclose Meadows Campsite

National Trust-owned site near Houghton Mill, run by the Camping and Caravan Club; open to public booking, seasonal (March to October).

Website

Houghton Mill Tea-room

National Trust riverside tea-room at Houghton Mill, a short walk from the slipway.

Website

Conditions to check

Lock

Houghton Lock lies immediately beside this slipway.

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Weir

Two weirs sit a short way upstream, on the approach to the lock.

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Boat traffic

The main river stretch carries powered pleasure-craft traffic through the summer months.

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Overhead cable

The Environment Agency records headroom restrictions from overhead power lines on this stretch of the river.

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Location data

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